


My papa you'll be

by bunnybinnie



Series: The Dino Boy AU [3]
Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Bedtime Stories, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Hugs, Mentioned Stray Kids Ensemble, Minor Character Death, caregiver!changbin, caregiver!minho, little!hyunjin, littlespace
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:53:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27578122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bunnybinnie/pseuds/bunnybinnie
Summary: No one lives forever. And when that cold truth hits Minho, Hyunjin is there to show him that love heals.- Inspired by "Love You Forever" written by Robert Munsch
Relationships: Hwang Hyunjin & Lee Minho | Lee Know
Series: The Dino Boy AU [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1979851
Comments: 3
Kudos: 113





	My papa you'll be

Hyunjin loved books; he was often stealing Changbin’s or Seungmin’s even if he had no real interest either for baby books or dinosaur stuff. He just liked books, looking at them, turning the pages and imagining a story. The only thing he loved more, was when Minho would read him bedtime stories.

The caregiver was quick to buy children books for Hyunjin, and the smile that had lit up his face was one of the brightest he’d ever seen; his eyes had turned into crescent and his hands clapped, feet even stomping from excitement.

Out of all these books, one definitely stood out. One night, when Hyunjin had a nightmare and was too scared to sleep in his big bed, Minho had whispered that story, using his phone light to see the words on the pages. _Love you forever_ was a very special book for little Jinnie, he had kept on asking Minho to read it to him again and again, to the point he knew all the words by heart.

It had become common to hear little Hyunjin reciting the story to himself, or to his toys while carefully rocking them. And each night he would spend regressed, Minho would sing for him those words that brought comfort in his heart, and a smile to the caregiver’s face.

_I’ll love you forever,_

_I’ll like you for always,_

_As long as I’m living,_

_My baby you’ll be._

And listening to the warm voice, Hyunjin would always feel calmer; arms rolling around his teammate and asking to be held. And if that was something Minho would be running away from when Hyunjin was big, he would actually be a sucker for clingy Jinnie (and secretly loved his cuteness and mannerisms that always made him look like a soft princess).

Minho loved taking care of his little. He loved seeing him play, dress up as different prince and princesses, and more often than not asking to do his hair (though that was a painful experience, Hyunjin would sometimes pull on his hair as he tried his best to make ‘papa pwettier’). It was one of the easiest ways to make his heart feel full and warm.

Until his heart broke to the point it wasn’t enough anymore. The day had started bright; a rare day off with nothing planned but time for himself. Yet a simple phone call at two in the afternoon was enough to change everything.

“ _Grandma was brought to the hospital earlier today. She didn’t make it. Can you come, please?”_

A simple phone call that made him run to the hospital for one last goodbye. He had hugged and he had kissed, he had comforted, and he had listened, without breaking. And when it was time for him to come home, his heart was empty. A hole had broken it; it felt like nothing would never be able to fix it.

On his way home, he walked as slowly as he could. He wanted to be alone, he needed time. He walked by the river, watching people. Life was all around him, it was unfair. He sat on the grass and stared at the shining water. He sent a text on their group chat before heading home, explaining briefly the situation and that he would go to his family’s tomorrow morning.

When he opened the dorm’s door, they were all waiting for him in the living room. He walked up to them and faintly smiled before Chan came to hug him. It was too much, and he broke down. Minho wasn’t the kind to cry, or at least not in front of them, so it came as quite a shock. Still, they were there for him and the hug quickly turned into a group hug session.

They hugged and hugged, they cried and talked, Minho reminisced of good old memories, and they laughed a bit as well. They spent a bittersweet time, Minho both happy to have such sweet memories but also hurt by the self-centred desire to keep her by his side forever.

And though he knew Hyunjin was the kind to absorb everyone’s emotions like they were his own, he didn’t expect his painful grief to affect him to the point he had accidentally regressed, tears sprinkling his eyes and younger than he usually would regress to. But today, he didn’t feel ready to slip into his caregiver role. As cute and needy Hyunjin was, as cuddly as soft he was being, Minho didn’t want to make things worse neither for him by putting his pain aside instead of trying to embrace it to let it go, nor for Hyunjin by surrounding the little with negative energy.

He hugged him tight; kissed his forehead with all the softness he had in him and excused himself, letting the rest of Stray Kids take care of papa’s little princess knowing he was in the safest hands there could be.

Alone in his room, he used that time to facetime the family members that he knew probably wouldn’t be able to travel for the funerals. He talked and cried with them, sharing together the bittersweetness of his grandmother’s passing. Finally, she was at peace, but oh painful it always is for those that stay.

With them, they remembered how sweet and loving she was. They laughed at how at each birthday, they would all get those knitted sweaters. He smiled as he talked about the karaoke set she had given him when he had first got into singing. His heart ached, yet it felt full when he thought of her telling him how proud she was of the man he had become.

“Even if she’s not there to tell you that she’s proud, that doesn’t mean it’s less true, you know,” one of his cousins told him. It helped a bit.

When the call ended, he heard small knocks on the door before hearing Changbin’s voice saying ‘no, no, come back, papa is busy’. He still went to open, feeling a tiny bit lighter. He met eyes with Hyunjin, who had a red nose and shiny eyes.

“Miss papa,” he said in a tiny voice, lowering his head.

Minho couldn’t help but coo and took him in his arms. He kissed his hair, mouthing to Changbin that he was okay. Together, they lied in Minho’s bed.

“Awe you sad?” Hyunjin babbled (it barely sounded like words, but that was what Minho could recognize).

“Yeah, a little bit, darling.”

Little Jinnie silently nodded, before cupping Minho’s face and leaving a tiny boopy kiss on his nose. He then hugged Minho as tight as he could, closing his eyes shut. His tiny high-pitched voice then was like a soft band-aid on Minho’s wound.

_I’ll love you forever,_

_I’ll like you for always,_

_As long as I’m living,_

_My papa you’ll be._

And even if it didn’t make the pain magically go away, those same words that comforted a sad little also comforted a broken-hearted caregiver.


End file.
